Never feel bad about a late deadline! Someone turned in a book 47 years past the due date

Next time you beat yourself up about turning in a project past the deadline, don’t feel bad! Recognize that you are timely and punctual, compared at least to one person who fulfilled a deadline five decades late.

Next time you beat yourself up about turning in a project past the deadline, don’t feel bad! Recognize that you are timely and punctual, compared at least to one person who fulfilled a deadline five decades late.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, someone anonymously turned in a copy of Eldridge Cleaver’s “Soul On Ice” that was due in 1970, making the book 47 years, four months and 29 days late.

Don’t feel bad about being tardy because this library book 47 years past due

The San Francisco Public Library, which received the book, said the late fee would have been $1,731.70 if they did not cap the fee at $10.01. The Eureka Valley branch manager Anne Vannucchi told the Chronicle that she would like to know who the library patron is so that they can learn the story behind the late due date. “It came to Eureka Valley in an interoffice envelope, but with no origination,” she said.

Being late and telling no one about it may work if you are turning in a book no one remembers you owe. But if you are turning in a work assignment and not a book late, it helps to be upfront about your tardiness. Don’t make an excuse, because if you get caught in a lie, that will lead to bigger problems. If you know you are going to be late, just be clear about why and explain how this one-time tardiness will not become a habit.

“Being late is a part of life, and it’s always polite to apologize when it happens,” Rosemary Haefner, the chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, advised. “Everybody’s human and makes mistakes, so own up to yours and move on.”